Reptile & Amphibian Forums

How does one go about looking for hatchling common snapping turtles? Recently, a friend of mine caught a hatchling redbelly turtle by scooping up mud where he saw bubbles, and it was under the mud. Can that tecnique be used for catching any hatchling turtle? I've been seeing quite a few hatchling turtles lately but no snappers and just think it'd be fun to find one.

I don't know where you are located. I'm up in Michigan and, in my experience most snappers lays there eggs at the end of May into mid June. They won't be hatched for a while yet. The best way to find babies is to look for large snappers along roads during the nesting season. This is only time they are more than a few feet from water. I have found a few big females on peoples lawns near some ponds by my house. A close inspection of the area showed freshly dug up dirt. I dug down just enough to find a clutch of eggs. This happened twice, both times during the first weekd of june. I put a little fence around the area. The eggs didn't hatch until around labor day.

I live in an area close to Philadelphia. I don't want to collect eggs, just find hatchlings, I don't care if they hatched this year or came out from hibernating after hatching last year. How would I go about finding HATCHLINGS?

Whenever I go out, I usually just walk along the bank and scan the shallow water. Hatchlings will almost always be in shallow water be it a snapper or a painted. Just bring a long handled net and some waiders and you should be set. The most important thing to remember is to take your time. Snappers can be almost invisible when there sitting at the bottom of a muddy pond. Just look for bits and pieces of a turtle like a head or a tail. Dont look for the entire thing. Seems to work for me, maybe it will help you.
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0.1 Red Eared Slider, 1.0 Common Snapper, 1.0 Bearded Dragon and a 55gal Native Fish Tank with a LM Bass and Pleco.
I use to have a collection of Leopard Geckos that I bred, but I no longer have.

Thanx for that advice. I try that but almost never EVER find turtle hatchlings. Maybe I don't try hard enough... They usually just wander into the open. But can someone please tell if scooping up mud where bubbles are coming from is a good tactic!?!